PinnedWhat My Father’s Unironic Rampage About The Hulk in a Toy Store Taught Me About UX DesignI think I was six, which would have made my brother four. We were avid fans of The Hulk TV series, starring Lou Ferrigno. My dad, like most 70s dads I suspect, had a crush on Lou because he was manly and buff. For my brother and me, though, we…UX6 min read
Nov 14, 202126 Years in the Making: the Exhumation of Cadaverous QuartetFollowing is a story about my six-year journey as a drummer in a death metal band you’ve probably never heard of whose collection of recordings is being republished by a record company you also probably haven’t heard of—26 years after we called it quits. Three Dudes in a Tiny Carpeted Garage Back in 1989, three metalheads were…Cadaverous Quartet7 min read
Oct 10, 2021Usability, Accessibility, and the Clickable Area of Digital ButtonsI want to tell you a story about how the usability and accessibility of a well-designed button can go south, and how you can avoid it with a sensible coding approach. But first, let me tell you why this is important. It’s simple, really: People with no movement disabilities enjoy…Usability4 min read
Sep 21, 2021My To-Do List SystemTo-do lists can be as overwhelming as they are helpful. But it feels SO good to check something off. Always. If I accomplish a task that isn’t on my list, I will literally add it only to immediately cross it off. Why? Because it helps me feel a sense of…To Do List3 min read
Sep 6, 2021Make My Best Super-Yummy Veggie Thai Fried Rice, Then Eat It—It’s EasyCooking is fun. Most of the time. My wife is better than I am, but I have mastered a few things. Mostly tofu-based things. I don’t really have recipes for the food I make. I have a process, which is both methodical and flexible, and everything else is to taste/liking/availability…Fried Rice8 min read
Aug 20, 2021Information Architecture and the Etymology of “Godspeed” and “Goodbye”Etymology is a meaningful part of my profession. Especially when working on Information Architecture and information design. It isn’t always a factor when considering language usage, but it does come into play. In any case, for a grammar enthusiast like myself it’s super fun to dive into the etymology of…Etymology2 min read
Mar 2, 2021Automobile Makers are Trying to Kill Us with Touchscreen DashboardsBack in 2013 I gave a talk about design usability which included a slide about the then-new Tesla touchscreen dashboard. Everyone was super hyped about how cool it was, but I was there to ruin the party with my criticism about a lack of tactile feedback. In this case we’re…Touchscreen3 min read
Sep 1, 2020To the Owners of the NWSL LA Expansion Team: Thank YouThese are my girls. With the help of my skillful coaching partner, I’m trying to prepare them for the 2027 World Cup. And while their silly-putty faces may lead you to believe that we’re the Bad News Bears of soccer (we kind of are) they are complete badasses. Last fall…Soccer3 min read
Aug 25, 2020“How Are You Doing?” is a TriggerNot all of us are okay. Nor are we prepared to answer the question genuinely. The world is overwhelming in myriad ways. It feels like a betrayal to the pain and suffering felt deep in the soul to reply with “okay, thanks.” But we ask. And they ask. Clients, peers…Emotional Health3 min read
Jan 10, 2020What Neil Peart means to me…In high school I was often found listening to records in my living room, air drumming, trying to reverse engineer what I was hearing on my favorite records. Mostly I was trying to learn records by Mötley Crüe, Metallica, Slayer, and Rush. One day I went over to this guy’s…Neil Peart2 min read